Missed Opportunity? Why aren’t you using Social Media to build company culture?

What if I told you that your company’s social media accounts aren’t just for attracting your ideal customers and clients? A strong social media presence can support your team's company culture and attract new team members who believe in your messaging and culture. 

Many social media management consultants shy away from promoting this use case because most clients only want to use social channels for outreach and brand building to followers who will eventually buy from them. 

But, oh boy, they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to support the growth of their team members and company!

Here are five ways to build a positive company culture through your public social media channels. 

Brag about employee achievements

We’ll let you in on a secret: after looking at our client’s social media analytics, we found that one of the best-performing content types are behind-the-scenes posts. Sharing your team’s achievements satisfies your followers' curiosity and provides a platform for your employees to be publicly recognized for their hard work.

Your followers get a sneak peek behind the curtain, and your employees get public recognition for their hard work. 

Here are examples of employee achievements you can brag about on social media:

• Welcoming new employees

• Celebrating work anniversaries

• Recognizing returning or leaving employees

• Launching of exciting new projects or products

• Recognizing winners of internal employee contests and competitions

• Celebrating staff members who beat sales records
  

Spotlight the REAL people behind the business

With their permission, spotlight employees in your company on your social channels. Make it fun and on brand, by not only sharing what they do at work, but perhaps a hobby or a passion. 

For example, if we featured team members at Small Town Girl Promotions, we’d probably have everyone share their favourite coffee beverage!

Another fun way to spotlight an employee is to “follow” them around for a day and do a “day in the life of…” post. This type of post provides an authentic and engaging perspective of their role and makes great reels and stories for social media

Share company values and mission

It sounds boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Sharing your business values and mission in your social media posts reminds your followers and employees why you do what you do. 

Try to make it as non-boring as possible. For example, don’t say, “Our value is community service. Our mission is to change the lives of one million people.” 

Instead, focus on showing, not telling. For example: “Our team enjoyed volunteering at the food shelter last week. It’s all part of our passion for changing the lives of our neighbours for the better.”

Encourage staff to participate on social

You can encourage your staff members to use their personal or professional profiles to engage with your company accounts. They can like and share posts or comment to add their expertise and perspective. This usually works well for LinkedIn, but it can also work with other channels, depending on your brand and niche. 

A word of caution first: Be sure to have an internal document with guidelines for participating in social media on behalf of the brand. You don’t want employees speaking off-brand or accidentally giving away a company secret before its official launch. 

Providing guidelines for staff to participate on social media gives them a sense of pride and ownership of the brand and your company's work.

Highlight workshops and employee programs

If your company holds employee workshops, events, or upskilling/reskilling classes, share them on social media. Post pictures from the event (remember to show faces, too) and talk about how your team plans to use this new knowledge to provide elevated products and services (be sure to share it from the perspective of how this makes a customer or clients experience with your brand better). 

This is another behind-the-scenes type post that shows your commitment to continuous learning for your employees. Did you know that when evaluating potential employers, many candidates look for companies that support their ongoing education and training? Showcasing these workshops and initiatives on social media shows potential future employees that you’d be dedicated to their success. 

Adding social media strategies into your company culture

If you’re currently only using social media as an external outreach channel, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to attract quality talent who share your business values. You can also use your public social media channels to celebrate team members’ achievements and events to boost their morale. 

A robust social media marketing strategy can incorporate internal and external audiences for your posts. Your followers love learning more about the people who work behind the scenes to deliver your products and services. 

If done right, your social media channels can support the growth of a positive company culture that recognizes individuals and supports their professional development and careers.  

Want to learn how this can apply to your business?. STGP can help you build a social media marketing strategy that supports your followers AND your team members . Book a complimentary coffee chat with Kim today to learn more.